''Natalee Holloway'' is a 2009 American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Mikael Salomon Mikael Salomon (born 24 February 1945) is a Danish cinematographer, director and producer of film and television. After a long cinematography career in Danish cinema, he transitioned to the Hollywood film industry in the late 1980s earning two ...

based on

Beth Holloway Elizabeth Ann Holloway (''née'' Reynolds; born 1960) is an American speech pathologist and motivational speaker. She became widely known in the international media after her teenage daughter, Natalee, disappeared while she was on a high school ...

's book about the 2005 disappearance of her daughter

Natalee Holloway Natalee is a female given name. It is a variant of the name Natalie, though uncommon according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Notable people with the name include: *Natalee Caple (born 1970), Canadian author of novels and poetry *Natalee Holloway (born ...

. The film stars Amy Gumenick as Natalee Holloway,

Tracy Pollan Tracy Jo Pollan (born June 22, 1960), is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Ellen Reed on the sitcom ''Family Ties'' (1985–1987). Early life Pollan was born on Long Island, New York, the daughter of Corinne Elaine "Corky ...

as Beth Holloway-Twitty and Jacques Strydom as

Joran van der Sloot Joran Andreas Petrus van der Sloot (; born 6 August 1987) is a Dutch convicted murderer who killed Stephany Flores Ramírez in Lima, Peru, in 2010. He is also the prime suspect in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway in 2005. After Flores ...

. When it aired on the

Lifetime Movie Network LMN (also known previously as Lifetime Movies, and an initialism for Lifetime Movie Network) is an American pay television network owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company and t ...

on April 19, 2009, the film scored the highest television ratings at that time in the network's history.

Production

In October 2008, the Lifetime Movie Network announced plans to create a

based on

's bestselling book '' Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith''. The senior vice president of original movies, Tanya Lopez, stated in the announcement that the network was "pleased to be working closely with Natalee's mother" and that they intended to tell the story of Natalee Holloway's disappearance "sensitively and accurately." Jarett Wieselman of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' questioned whether it was too soon for such a film to be made. Holloway said that she was not sure at first that she could take this step, but felt that it was "the right thing to do" after meeting the creative staff in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Sara Paxton Sara Paxton (born April 25, 1988) is an American actress, voice artist, and singer. She began acting at an early age, appearing in minor roles in both films and television shows, before rising to fame in 2004, after playing the title role in the t ...

was first offered the part of Natalee. But Paxton turned down the role feeling it was still too soon after Holloway's disappearance to make a film because it was still being covered in the media.

Spencer Redford Spencer Redford is an American former actress and singer, best known for her role as Loretta Modern in the Disney Channel Original Movie ''Pixel Perfect''. Early life Redford was born in Rochester, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit. At a ...

, was also considered for the role of Natalee. The film was shot in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, and produced by

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainm ...

with

Von Zerneck Sertner Films Frank von Zerneck (born November 4, 1940) is an American television producer. Career Zerneck's career began as a theater producer in Los Angeles, but moved to television in 1975 in a collaboration with Robert Greenwald through Moonlight Produc ...

. Holloway's book was adapted for television by Teena Booth, who had previously written ''

A Little Thing Called Murder ''A Little Thing Called Murder'' is a 2006 comedy-drama television film starring Judy Davis and Jonathan Jackson and directed by Richard Benjamin. Made by Stonemade Entertainment for Lifetime TV, the film was based on a true story of convict ...

'' and '' Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal'' for

Lifetime Television Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...

. Holloway said that she was fascinated and at first overwhelmed by the logistics of the production, which she views "as an accomplishment."

Plot

The film retells events leading up to the night of Natalee Holloway's disappearance in

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...

, and the ensuing investigation in the aftermath. The film does not solve the case, but stages re-creations of various scenarios, based on the testimony of key players and suspects, including

, who is the last person seen drinking with her and escorting her out of the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

. His contradictory accounts, some presented days and others presented years later, are used to present different reenactments of Holloway's final hours before she went missing.

Cast

as Beth Holloway-Twitty, Natalee's mother * Wayne Harrison as Dave Holloway, Natalee's father *

Grant Show Grant Alan Show (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor best known for his role on ''Melrose Place'' as Jake Hanson, which he played from 1992 to 1997. Since 2017, Show has portrayed tycoon Blake Carrington in the soap opera reboot ''Dyna ...

as George "Jug" Twitty, Natalee's stepfather * Amy Gumenick as

, graduating high school student who disappeared in

* Kai Coetzee as Matt Holloway, Natalee's brother *

Sean Michael Sean Cameron Michael (born 24 December 1969) is a South African actor, writer and singer. A native South African English, English speaker, he is also fluent in Afrikaans. Early life Michael was born in Cape Town, South Africa. He became intere ...

as Paul van der Sloot, father of Joran van der Sloot * Jacques Strydom as

, suspect in Natalee's disappearance * Clayton Evertson as Deepak Kalpoe, friend of Joran van der Sloot * Cokey Falkow as Patrick van der Eem, working in an undercover investigation *

Catherine Dent Catherine Grace Dent (born April 14, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for the role of Danielle "Danny" Sofer in the FX series ''The Shield'', Janet Anderson in '' Outcast'' (2016–2018), and General Hale in ''Agents of S.H.I. ...

as Carol Standifer, friend of Beth Holloway-Twitty

Broadcast

The April 19, 2009 broadcast attracted 3.2 million viewers and more than 1 million women in the 18-49 age group, garnering the highest

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

in the Lifetime Movie Network's 11-year history at that time.

Reception

Although the movie set ratings records for Lifetime, the movie was not received well by critic Alec Harvey of ''

The Birmingham News ''The Birmingham News'' is the principal newspaper for Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The paper is owned by Advance Publications and was a daily newspaper from its founding through September 30, 2012. After that day, the ''News'' and its two ...

''. Harvey called the movie "sloppy and uneven, a forgettable look at the tragedy that consumed the nation's attention for months". However, Jake Meaney of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

'' found the film to be surprisingly "calm and levelheaded", and praised Tracy Pollan's portrayal of Beth Holloway. Holloway said that she was honored by Pollan's portrayal and that there "could not have been a better choice." Joran van der Sloot himself watched the film one evening in 2010, according to his friend John Ludwick, and said that some parts were true while others were not.

Home media

The film was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

for

home video Home video is prerecorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD, Blu-ray and streaming me ...

on November 10, 2009 by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

. It was released internationally on DVD in January 2010 in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It has also been released in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Sequel

A follow-up television film, ''Justice for Natalee Holloway'', with Pollan, Show, and Gumerick reprising their roles from the first film and

Stephen Amell Stephen Adam Amell (born May 8, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He came to prominence for playing the lead role of Oliver Queen on The CW superhero series ''Arrow'' (2012–2020). Amell also appeared in subsequent Arrowverse franchise media, along wi ...

taking the part of

, aired on May 9, 2011 on the Lifetime Movie Network. The sequel film takes place five years after the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, as Beth Twitty partners with the FBI in trying to bring Joran van der Sloot to justice.

References

External links

* *
Natalee Holloway
' at the

{{Mikael Salomon 2009 television films 2009 films 2000s biographical films 2000s crime drama films 2000s mystery films American biographical films American crime drama films American mystery films Films based on autobiographies Films directed by Mikael Salomon Films set in 2005 Films set in Aruba Films shot in South Africa Lifetime (TV network) films Crime films based on actual events 2009 drama films American drama television films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films